A reporter asked Anthony Rizzo if he was going to resurrect his "Rocky" pre-game speech from Game 7 of the 2016 World Series or hire a dancer.

“We've got to get a win (Wednesday),” replied Rizzo, who wasn’t in the mood to seek any gimmicks.

The cold reality is that after a taxing journey to the National League Championship Series, the Cubs have been outplayed to the brink of elimination after the Dodgers pulled away to a workmanlike 6-1 win Tuesday night to take a 3-0 lead in this best-of-seven series.

Shortcomings such as not holding an early lead, not solving a formidable bullpen and making careless errors late are the symptoms of a fatigued team. But Rizzo wasn’t buying into that theory.

“I’m 28 years old,” Rizzo said. “I can run laps around this place right now. We got a great job for a living to play baseball and to say anyone is drained, I've got to disagree with that.”

When asked if needing five games to beat the Washington Nationals in the NL Division Series taxed them, Rizzo replied, “we have a beautiful life of playing baseball. You've got to keep that in perspective and if you want to try to get mentally tired, you've got to put the big picture in perspective and realize what we’re doing on a daily basis.”

The same question was presented to Kyle Schwarber, who replied, “I’ll shut (that question) down. We’re not running out of gas at all.”

But, for starters, why does Kyle Hendricks – the Cubs’ best starting pitcher in the final two months of the regular season – allow multiple home runs in consecutive games for the first time in his career?

“My mechanics were getting a little sloppy,” said Hendricks, who allowed a game-tying home run to Andre Ethier in the second inning and a tie-breaking shot to Chris Taylor in the third. “I was not dialed in with my mechanics. I was rushing to the plate. My fastball command wasn’t dialed in, and I didn’t get away with it.”

Ethier’s home run marked the third consecutive time a Cubs lead was wiped out by a run in one inning or less.

“That one’s on me,” Hendricks said.

A fielding error by Kris Bryant at third base led to a run in the sixth, and the Cubs were lucky to escape without damage after center fielder Ian Happ dropped a deep drive to open the seventh.

The Cubs didn’t give up, as pinch-hitter Alex Avila hit a single to open the ninth, and Albert Almora Jr. followed with a double. But prior to those hits, the Dodgers’ relievers held the Cubs hitless in 29 at-bats.

Pivotal moments from the Cubs' 6-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Oct. 17, 2017. (Chicago Tribune)

Pivotal moments from the Cubs' 6-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Oct. 17, 2017. (Chicago Tribune)

“That club is here for reason,” Addison Russell said. “They got starting and bullpen arms. That’s a great team over there.

“It’s definitely frustrating. We can’t do more than what we’re already doing.”

The Dodgers’ method of winning has been so convincing that the Cubs’ weren’t pulling out the history card to insist they were in decent shape. President Theo Epstein was the general manager of the 2004 Boston Red Sox team that overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat the Yankees in the American League Championship Series and win the World Series, and many Cubs were part of the 2016 team that overcame a 3-1 deficit to win the Series at Cleveland.

“We’re down, but not out,” Bryant said. “We got beat. They seem to be doing everything right right now.

“Our approach is one game at a time. We've got to win them all. They’re must wins. If any team out there who can do it, this group of guys is the team that can do it. We’ve done it plenty of times - obviously not to this extent.”

Bryant did admit that that the Nationals series was “pretty draining.”

“There were some good games there that were pretty taxing for bullpen and our pitchers, too,” Bryant said. “You kind of expect it around this time. The games mean a lot. It takes a lot of energy to get ready for this game, but at the end of the game you feel wiped out.

“But it’s EX-PEC-TED.”

Photos from Game 3 of the NLCS between the Cubs and Dodgers at Wrigley Field on Oct. 17, 2017.